Veterans Day 2019

By B. Clark

Veterans Day is one of the few federal holidays observed on its actual date. The reason is the history behind the date.

The "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" in 1918 is the time and date recorded as the end of World War I.

An agreement between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, signed at 5:45 a.m. on November 11th. Per the armistice, cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I was to begin at 11 a.m. However, history shows the war continued on both sides throughout the day until nightfall.

Initially, the agreement or armistice expired after 36 days. It was extended several times until the formal peace agreement at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Originally this date was known as Armistice Day in honor of the agreement that ended World War I that November day in 1918.

The name and the day of honor and remembrance has changed several times. First, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed the name to Veterans Day in 1954. Even though the name was changed, history still associates the date with its original name, Armistice Day.

Congress decided to change the day in which to honor veterans to the fourth Monday in October and passed the Uniform Holidays Bill in 1968. The law didn't go into effect until 1971.

President Gerald Ford, recognizing the historical importance of November 11, had Veterans Day changed back to its original date in 1975.

Even though Veterans Day originated, based on the ceasefire of World War I, Veterans Day commemorates veterans of all wars. Memorial Day is set aside to remember and honor veterans who died in active military service, and Veterans Day is for honoring all U.S. military veterans. Any man or woman who has served in the United States Armed Forces.

Some cities hold celebrations or offer veterans special recognition for multiple days, depending on what day of the week, November 11 falls that year.

Arlington Cemetery, home to over 400,000 graves, holds a memorial service every year, both on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day.

Thousands of veterans, along with their families, visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall to honor those who served each Veterans Day. The Vietnam Memorial Wall will celebrate its' 35th Anniversary of the Three Servicemen Statue and 15th Anniversary of the In Memory Plaque. Keynote Speaker this year will be Brig. General George Price, USA (Ret.); Vietnam Women's Memorial Speaker: Marsha Four; National Anthem Performer: Dr. Laura Kafka-Price.

So how many Americans have served or are serving their country? It would be difficult to include every veteran who has ever served but www.va.gov provides some statistics.

America's Total Wars – 1775 to 1991 - 41,892,128 Americans have served their country

4,734,991 Served in World War I

16,112,566 Served in World War II

5,720,000 Served in the Korean War

8,744,000 Served in the Vietnam era

2,322,000 Served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm

Global War on Terror (Oct 2001 -) V.A. did not list totals since it is ongoing.

Out of 251,047,650 Americans in 2017, there were 18,204,605 million veterans who had served in the U.S. military, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Since 2005, the oldest available data for this version of the table, the number of veterans has decreased each year. Down from 23,427,584 while at the same time, "civilian population 18 and over" increased 36,523,206.

In 2009, 26.8% of the veteran population was between 35 and 54 years of age, just barely edging out 55 to 64 years of age at 25.4%. In 2017, the highest number of veterans per age group fell into the category of 65 to 74 years with 4,882,966.

The top 5 states where veterans have chosen to live might surprise you. Topping the list was Alaska with 12.5% followed by Virginia at 10.8%, Montana 10.6%, Wyoming at 10.5% and Maine at 10.3%

Since 2005 the percentage of women veterans has increased by only 2% in the 12 years provided by the report. In 2017, women were at a mere 8.9%.

The Census Bureau provides a margin of error for all statistics. Even reports covering some of the same years and subjects have totals which vary slightly between them.

2019 is no different than any of the recent years, with many national chains offering special discounts or meals to veterans. A simple internet search for 2019 Veterans Day freebies will yield a variety of choices for where you live in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Blue Ridge, Georgia

November 09, 2019

Veterans Day Parade and Memorial Service

​From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

breakfast for all veterans at

St. Anthony Catholic Church on East Main St.

​11 a.m. Annual Veterans Day Parade

12 p.m. Memorial Service

McCaysville, Georgia

November 09, 2019

Jeep Show and Veterans Day Parade

​From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Jeep Show

3 p.m. Veterans Day Parade

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